My first photo for critique...treat me gently!

[John Orrell]

Nice effect, and brings out the subject(s) well. Sadly, it's also introduced stepping and pixelization around the outlines of the subjects and lost some of the faint strands of her hair, but I suppose that's because the resolution of the photo you grabbed from the page was obviously quite low. Nice idea though.

 

[yaji]

u could try blurring the edges in ur paint program... i use paint shop pro *i like it better* there are alot of tools that u can use to get rid of that pixelation around your subject. i would use the clone tool and just run it around the head, to stitch it together.

 

[Blackswann]

Understood.

You are right, since JPEG is a 'lossy' format every time you save it you 'lose' more information - but due to file size constraints it is unavoidable - oh well!

Good idea about Paint Shop Pro - I use it too!! Will give it a go and pe haps retouch when I get two mins... if that is okay? Will post soon...

Take care!

 

[scotlynnd]

it's getting better and better, way to learn and improve!

 

[jadin]

The last edit looks great! Now you just need to start over with a quality scan!

Oh and don't forget to soften the edges after your background changes, those pixels are harsh..

 

[airgunr]

I too really like the babies eyes. The way she's looking at you. Very nice. The cropping does help.